Eagles' defense has quit, and Reid needs to say it

PHILADELPHIA – Another day-after presser, another flood of “do a better job” mumbles from Andy Reid. It has become the stuff of legend in Philadelphia, at least as far as monotony can be described in such a way. Maybe someday they will build a Monotony Hall of Fame at the base of a windmill, where Muzak, white noise and Andy Reid podium performances can be charter members.

At least on this day, Reid spoke with actions, if not words.

Three hours after delivering his injury report and 20 minutes of banality, Reid finally made a statement of substance: He cut Jason Babin.

The message within releasing the veteran defensive end was clear: This team – particularly this defense – has quit. And even if Reid is going to be DOA when he meets with owner Jeff Lurie at the end of this season, he finally delivered a message to the public that he does not accept players who quit.

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Quit perhaps is the most offensive of four-letter words in the sporting world. Calling a player or players quitters is the Molotov cocktail of terms, one that is not capable of being misconstrued or convoluted.

It is meant to incinerate.

But it is the only way to explain what has happened to the Eagles’ defense over the last month. This is a team that started 3-1, and those three wins came largely due to a defense that somehow managed to fend off opponents while Mike Vick was handling the football like it was a brining turkey.

Then the defense had its famously bad meltdown to the Lions late in the game in Week 5. Of course, for three quarters the defense had been terrific. Yet that was enough for Juan Castillo to get the ax as defensive coordinator – coordinator of what had been the best of the team’s three units, by a lot.

Like Castillo or not – and there were members of the Eagles’ defense who had their criticisms – what has taken place since that change speaks to a unit scorned.

The Eagles have allowed 28 or more points in each of the last five games. That never had happened in the franchise’s history, a history that includes a lot of truly rotten teams.

Unlike the offensive line, which has been besieged by injuries, this defensive unit is not overrun with inexperienced players. These are veterans, many of them with Pro Bowl appearances. Nnamdi Asomugha, who prior to his arrival in Philadelphia was being compared to some of the greatest cornerbacks in league history, has had his reputation destroyed by his tenure with the Birds. The defensive line has veterans beyond Babin on it. It has completely fizzled after playing well in September. DeMeco Ryans, who was playing at an All-Pro level in the early going, has been overwhelmed by the stench surrounding him.

This is not some sudden loss of talent. This isn’t, as some pundits have oddly asserted, a “dumb” defense. How do you suddenly lose that much IQ without losing players? Todd Bowles, Castillo’s tragic replacement as D-coordinator, told reporters after Monday night’s loss to Carolina that his players failed to grasp a high-school level scheme against the Panthers.

There’s one event that can account for that failure: Mentally quitting.

The defense has quit. They are quitting quitters who quit. And clearly the Eagles considered Babin one of those quitters, so they sent him walking Tuesday.

That action was necessary, but at some point it would be nice to hear Reid quit with the smoke-blowing mumbling and acknowledge publicly what everyone in town can see: His players have quit.

“I deal with them man to man, coaches and players,” Reid said when asked about it. “I am the head football coach of this team, and it’s my responsibility that to make sure that these guys do their job. It’s my responsibility to deal with those coaches and players face to face, man to man.

“That’s how I’ve done it, and I’m not going to change it.”

He won’t change it, and his team will continue to spiral downward, and Andy Reid will be fired. That is what will happen.

If witnessing a team quit on you won’t make you change, nothing will. Nothing will.